Lowe's Assessment Tests

Lowe''s Situational Judgement Test

1. Question 1 of 10

   You are a service recovery assistant at Lowe’’s. A case you were handling has sat for a fortnight because you never actioned a note a colleague sent you. The customer has now written again. Your colleague sent the note by message and would have no reason to check what happened to it. Cases open longer than ten days are listed for your team leader each week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Put the case right today at speed and mention the fortnight to your team leader only if it comes up on this week's list of cases open longer than ten days.
   2. Apologise to the customer, sort the case out today, and tell the colleague who sent the note what happened so that she knows it was not ignored deliberately.
   3. Keep it to yourself and reopen the matter as a fresh case, so the fortnight does not show up anywhere and the customer is dealt with from today.
   4. Tell your team leader today that you missed the note and say what you are doing for the customer, so that she can look at how notes like it get picked up.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Tell your team leader today that you missed the note and say what you are doing for the customer, so that she can look at how notes like it get picked up.

   Least effective: C. Keep it to yourself and reopen the matter as a fresh case, so the fortnight does not show up anywhere and the customer is dealt with from today.

   A: Leaves the disclosure to a report: the customer is served, and whether your manager hears about it is decided by a list rather than by you.

   B: Tells the person least able to act: the colleague is reassured, the customer is served, and the manager who could stop it happening again hears nothing.

   C: Conceals your own error by starting the clock again: the customer's two lost weeks disappear from the record, and the list your team leader reads is made to show something that did not happen.

   The most effective response is to tell your team leader today that you missed the note, say what you are doing for the customer, and ask her to look at how such notes get picked up: the customer is dealt with, the person who can change the process knows, and the account of it comes from you rather than from a report. It beats leaving it to the ten-day list, because that lets a report decide whether your manager is told. It beats telling only the colleague who sent it, because she cannot change anything. The least effective response is reopening it as a fresh case so the fortnight disappears: the record is made to show a delay that never happened, and hiding your own error is a different kind of wrong from disclosing it passively or from telling the wrong person. The principle: own a lapse to the person who can act on it, and never make the record tidier than the truth.

2. Question 2 of 10

   You are a purchasing assistant at Lowe’’s. A supplier has rung to query a set of volumes that a colleague of yours prepared. You can see that your colleague’s numbers are right and that the supplier has misread the layout. He is impatient, has queried her figures before, and says he would rather deal with you from now on because she takes days to reply. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him her figures are often unreliable and that he should bring the numbers to you in future, so that at least the queries get answered quickly.
   2. Show him where the layout misled him, say the figures are right, and tell him you will pass on his point about reply times to her and your manager.
   3. Answer the query yourself and agree to be his contact for volumes from now on, since he is clearly not going to deal with her and somebody has to answer him.
   4. Tell him the volumes are her work and that he should take the query back to her, since it is her supplier and answering it yourself would cut across her.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Show him where the layout misled him, say the figures are right, and tell him you will pass on his point about reply times to her and your manager.

   Least effective: A. Tell him her figures are often unreliable and that he should bring the numbers to you in future, so that at least the queries get answered quickly.

   A: Undermines a colleague to an outsider: her numbers were right, and a supplier is now told by her own team that her work cannot be trusted.

   C: Solves a relationship problem by rearranging it: she loses her own supplier contact without being consulted, and nobody addresses the reply times.

   D: Applies the boundary and ignores the customer: he is sent back to somebody he says takes days, holding a misreading you could have cleared up in a minute.

   The most effective response is to show him where the layout misled him, confirm the figures are right, and say you will pass his point about reply times to her and your manager: the query is answered on the spot, your colleague’s work is defended because it is correct, and the real complaint goes somewhere it can be dealt with. It beats agreeing to become his contact, because that quietly takes her supplier away without asking her. It beats sending him back to her with his misreading intact, because it costs a minute to clear up. The least effective response is telling him her figures are often unreliable: they were right, and a supplier has been told by her own team not to trust her, which is a different kind of wrong from over-accommodating him or from standing on the boundary. The principle: defend a colleague’s correct work to an outsider, and take the criticism of her that has substance to her and your manager instead.

3. Question 3 of 10

   You are a customer care assistant at Lowe’’s. A customer is asking for a refund that is larger than you may approve. Refunds above your limit need a manager, and the manager is in a meeting for another hour. The customer is polite, has waited a long time already, and says he needs to know before he leaves for work. The refund itself looks reasonable to you. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Approve the part of the refund that is inside your limit now, and tell him the rest will need a manager's decision that you will chase this afternoon.
   2. Tell him it is fine to expect the full refund and that nobody senior needs to look at a case as clear as his, which you have not actually checked.
   3. Tell him the refund is above what you can approve, put the case to the manager with your recommendation as soon as her meeting ends, and give him a time you will ring back.
   4. Interrupt the manager's meeting to get a decision on the refund now, since the customer is leaving for work shortly and has already waited a good deal longer than he should have had to.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Tell him the refund is above what you can approve, put the case to the manager with your recommendation as soon as her meeting ends, and give him a time you will ring back.

   Least effective: B. Tell him it is fine to expect the full refund and that nobody senior needs to look at a case as clear as his, which you have not actually checked.

   A: Settles the easy half and leaves the substance: he gets part of an answer and still has to wait for the decision he actually rang about.

   B: States as settled something nobody has decided: he leaves for work believing the money is agreed, and the manager may see the case quite differently.

   D: Escalates by interruption: an hour's wait for a call back is a smaller cost than pulling a manager out of a meeting for a case that is not urgent in that sense.

   The most effective response is to tell him the refund is above your limit, put the case to the manager with your recommendation as soon as she is free, and give him a time you will ring back: he knows exactly where his case is, the decision goes to the person who owns it with your view attached, and the call back is a commitment you can keep. It beats approving the part inside your limit, because the decision he is waiting for is the rest. It beats interrupting the meeting, because an hour is a smaller cost than that. The least effective response is telling him it is fine and nobody senior needs to look at it: he leaves for work believing the money is agreed and nobody has decided anything, which is a different kind of wrong from half-answering or from escalating clumsily. The principle: say what is decided, by whom and when, rather than what the person in front of you would like to hear.

4. Question 4 of 10

   You are a service recovery assistant at Lowe’’s. A customer’s case has sat untouched for a fortnight because the colleague who had it before you left the details in a note nobody picked up. The customer is on the phone, calm but tired of explaining herself, and wants to know why it has taken so long. You can put the case right this week. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Acknowledge the fortnight briefly and move straight on to what happens next, since what she needs most is the case actually settled.
   2. Explain that the case sat with a colleague who left the details in a note nobody picked up, so that she can see the delay was not caused by anybody she has spoken to.
   3. Apologise for the fortnight, say plainly that the case was not picked up when it should have been, and set out what you will do this week and when she will hear from you.
   4. Tell her the case was held up by the way work is passed between colleagues, and that a change to how notes are handled is being looked at.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: C. Apologise for the fortnight, say plainly that the case was not picked up when it should have been, and set out what you will do this week and when she will hear from you.

   Least effective: B. Explain that the case sat with a colleague who left the details in a note nobody picked up, so that she can see the delay was not caused by anybody she has spoken to.

   A: Answers the question in passing: the apology is real, and she is moved on before she has heard why it happened.

   B: Blames a named colleague to the customer: the explanation buys your own standing with her at another person's expense, and tells her the business is a set of individuals rather than one organisation.

   D: Answers a personal question with a process description: it is accurate and it leaves her with a policy explanation instead of an apology and a date.

   The most effective response is to apologise for the fortnight, say plainly that the case was not picked up when it should have been, and set out what happens this week: it answers what she asked, it takes responsibility on behalf of the business rather than for yourself alone, and it gives her a date to hold you to. It beats acknowledging the fortnight briefly and moving on, because she asked why and a passing apology is what has tired her out. It beats describing how work is passed between colleagues, because a process answer is not an apology and gives her nothing to expect. The least effective response is telling her which colleague left the note nobody picked up: it buys your own credibility with her by handing her a person to be angry with, which is a different kind of wrong from dodging the question or from answering it bureaucratically. The principle: own the failure as the organisation’s, and never make a customer a witness against a colleague.

5. Question 5 of 10

   You are a shift supervisor at Lowe’’s. The handover sheet has a line for a walk of the area at the end of each shift, signed by the supervisor. Tonight the shift overran, the walk was not done, and the incoming supervisor is waiting to take over. Your manager has said more than once that unsigned handovers hold up the next shift. The area was quiet all evening and nothing has been reported. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Do the full walk now, sign the sheet, and hand over forty minutes late so that the incoming supervisor starts her own shift behind.
   2. Hand over with the walk line unsigned and tell the incoming supervisor it was not done and why, so that she knows what has been checked, and note it for your manager.
   3. Sign the handover sheet off as walked after a quiet evening with nothing reported, and mention the overrun to your manager tomorrow.
   4. Ask the incoming supervisor to do the walk at the start of her shift and sign for it herself, since the area will be covered either way within the hour.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Hand over with the walk line unsigned and tell the incoming supervisor it was not done and why, so that she knows what has been checked, and note it for your manager.

   Least effective: C. Sign the handover sheet off as walked after a quiet evening with nothing reported, and mention the overrun to your manager tomorrow.

   A: Buys a true record with the next shift's time: the walk happens, and the incoming supervisor starts forty minutes down for a line that could have said what happened.

   C: Signs for a check that was not carried out: the signature is the only evidence anybody has that the area was walked, and it now says something untrue.

   D: Moves your own task onto the next shift: she starts twenty minutes behind on a walk that belonged to the shift that has just ended.

   The most effective response is to hand over with the line unsigned, tell the incoming supervisor it was not done and why, and note it for your manager: the sheet stays true, the person taking over knows exactly what has and has not been checked, and the overrun is visible to somebody who can do something about it. It beats doing the full walk now and handing over forty minutes late, because the next shift pays for a line that could simply have told the truth. It beats asking the incoming supervisor to do it, because she starts her shift behind on somebody else’s task. The least effective response is signing the sheet as walked because the area was quiet: the signature is the only evidence anybody has, and it is made to say something untrue, which is a different kind of wrong from cutting the check short or from passing it on. The principle: an unsigned line tells the truth about a missed check, and a signature is a statement rather than a formality.

6. Question 6 of 10

   You are an availability analyst at Lowe’’s. You and a colleague are presenting a joint piece of analysis on Thursday. You have done the numbers and he has done the site interviews. Two of your sections are unfinished and you have a separate deadline on Wednesday. He has said he is happy to present alone if that helps. Thursday’s audience will ask about the numbers. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Tell him today which two sections are unfinished, agree what you can realistically have ready by Thursday, and split the presenting so that you take the numbers.
   2. Present together as planned and finish the two sections on Wednesday night after the other deadline, since they are nearly done and nobody else needs to know they were late.
   3. Ask to move Thursday's presentation to next week, since two unfinished sections and a Wednesday deadline is not a position to present a joint piece of work from.
   4. Give the presentation to your colleague to deliver on his own, without telling him which two sections you have not finished.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Tell him today which two sections are unfinished, agree what you can realistically have ready by Thursday, and split the presenting so that you take the numbers.

   Least effective: D. Give the presentation to your colleague to deliver on his own, without telling him which two sections you have not finished.

   B: Keeps a risk to yourself: if Wednesday night goes wrong, the first anybody hears about two missing sections is in the room on Thursday.

   C: Moves the date before trying the day: two sections and a colleague who has offered help make Thursday reachable, and the audience is assembled for it.

   D: Hands over a job with a hole in it: he stands in front of an audience that will ask about numbers he did not build, unaware that two sections are missing.

   The most effective response is to tell him today which sections are unfinished, agree what is realistic by Thursday, and split the presenting so you take the numbers: he can plan around the true position, the Wednesday deadline is accounted for, and the part of the audience’s questions only you can answer is answered by you. It beats presenting as planned and finishing on Wednesday night, because a private risk becomes everybody’s problem if the night goes badly. It beats moving the presentation, because Thursday is reachable and the audience is already assembled. The least effective response is handing him the presentation without saying two sections are missing: he faces questions about numbers he did not build, not knowing what is absent, which is a different kind of wrong from carrying the risk quietly or from postponing. The principle: a colleague can only cover for you against the truth, so tell them what is actually missing.

7. Question 7 of 10

   You are a procurement graduate at Lowe’’s. A supplier has agreed a change to what he provides, and everybody expects the written variation to be signed next week. He has offered to start on the new basis on Monday so that nothing is lost. Work started before a variation is signed is not covered by the agreement, and your manager is at a conference until Wednesday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Ask the supplier to hold until the variation is signed, and put the signature in front of whoever can approve it in your manager's absence so it happens this week.
   2. Tell the supplier to start on Monday on the new basis, with the written variation to follow next week as everybody expects.
   3. Ask the supplier to start on Monday but to invoice only once the variation is signed, so that nothing is paid for outside the agreement.
   4. Tell the supplier nothing can happen until your manager is back on Wednesday, and let him decide for himself what to do with Monday and Tuesday.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: A. Ask the supplier to hold until the variation is signed, and put the signature in front of whoever can approve it in your manager's absence so it happens this week.

   Least effective: B. Tell the supplier to start on Monday on the new basis, with the written variation to follow next week as everybody expects.

   B: Breaches the rule about when work may start: a week of work would sit outside the agreement entirely, and the supplier is the one carrying that if anything goes wrong.

   C: Solves the payment and not the exposure: the work is still done outside the agreement, which is what the rule about starting is actually about.

   D: Treats one person's diary as the only route: somebody is covering this week, and two days are given away without anybody being asked.

   The most effective response is to ask the supplier to hold and to put the signature in front of whoever is covering: the rule is kept, the week is not simply written off, and the person who can actually sign is asked. It beats asking him to start and invoice later, because the exposure is in the work rather than in the payment. It beats telling him to wait for Wednesday, because somebody is covering and nobody has asked them. The least effective response is telling him to start on Monday on the new basis: a week of work sits outside the agreement, and it is the supplier who carries that if it goes wrong, which is a different kind of wrong from a half fix or from a needless delay. The principle: the point of a rule about when work may begin is the work, and an expected signature is not a signature.

8. Question 8 of 10

   You are a brand assistant at Lowe’’s. In a review of a campaign you had worked on for two months, a senior colleague went through your work in front of eight people and said most of it would have to be redone. Some of what she said was fair. You are in the group that has to deliver the reworked campaign in three weeks, and the next working session is tomorrow morning. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Withdraw from the campaign group after that review and ask your manager to put you on something else, since your work on it is evidently not what they want.
   2. Go to tomorrow's session and say nothing about the review, since raising it would look like you cannot take criticism and the work is what matters now.
   3. Ask your manager to raise with her how the review was conducted, since going through somebody's work like that in front of eight people is not how feedback should be given.
   4. Go to tomorrow's session with a plan for the parts you accept and ask her to go through the parts you do not, so that the rework starts from an agreed brief.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: D. Go to tomorrow's session with a plan for the parts you accept and ask her to go through the parts you do not, so that the rework starts from an agreed brief.

   Least effective: A. Withdraw from the campaign group after that review and ask your manager to put you on something else, since your work on it is evidently not what they want.

   A: Withdraws from a commitment after a hard hour: the group loses the person who knows the work best, three weeks before it is due, because of how the review felt.

   B: Buries the part you disagree with: the fair criticism and the unfair criticism are accepted together, and you rebuild to a brief you do not believe in.

   C: Turns the work into a complaint about conduct: it may well be justified, and three weeks before delivery it is the campaign that needs the attention.

   The most effective response is to go to tomorrow’s session with a plan for the parts you accept and ask her to go through the parts you do not: the three weeks start immediately, the criticism is separated into the half that improves the work and the half that needs testing, and the conversation happens with the person who made it. It beats saying nothing about the review, because you would rebuild against a brief you do not believe. It beats asking your manager to raise how the review was conducted, because that is a separate conversation and the campaign is due in three weeks. The least effective response is withdrawing from the group: a hard hour costs the campaign the person who knows it best, three weeks from delivery, which is a different kind of wrong from over-agreeing or from making it about conduct. The principle: take the part of hard feedback that is right, test the part that is not, and stay in the work.

9. Question 9 of 10

   You are a supplier quality assistant at Lowe’’s. A site has told you in passing that two pallets from a supplier arrived with the wrong labels last week and they simply relabelled them. Wrong labels are supposed to be reported so the supplier can find the cause. The site did not say whether they had reported it, and the supplier’s next delivery is on Thursday. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

   1. Assume the site has already reported it, since they found the problem themselves and would hardly have relabelled two pallets and then left the supplier in the dark.
   2. Check today whether a report was raised, raise one yourself if not, and tell the supplier before Thursday's delivery so that the cause can be looked at.
   3. Raise a report yourself straight away without checking, since a duplicate report costs nothing and the supplier needs to know before Thursday in any case.
   4. Mention it to your manager and leave her to decide whether it needs a report, since it was second hand and the site has not asked you to do anything.
   Show the answer

   Most effective: B. Check today whether a report was raised, raise one yourself if not, and tell the supplier before Thursday's delivery so that the cause can be looked at.

   Least effective: A. Assume the site has already reported it, since they found the problem themselves and would hardly have relabelled two pallets and then left the supplier in the dark.

   A: Assumes a report exists rather than looking: it takes one message to check, and Thursday's delivery arrives with the cause unexamined because nobody did.

   C: Acts without the one check that shapes the action: a duplicate splits the supplier's investigation across two reports and neither has the full picture.

   D: Passes a simple check upwards: she has to ask the site the same question you could have asked this morning, and Thursday is closer.

   The most effective response is to check today whether a report was raised, raise one yourself if not, and tell the supplier before Thursday: it costs a message, it produces exactly one report, and the supplier gets the chance to find the cause before the next delivery. It beats raising a report without checking, because two reports split the investigation. It beats handing it to your manager, because she has to make the same one minute enquiry. The least effective response is assuming the site has reported it: nobody looks, Thursday arrives with the cause unexamined, and the assumption is made by the one person who heard about it, which is a different kind of wrong from acting too quickly or from escalating something small. The principle: when a report may or may not exist, the cheap thing to do is find out.

10. Question 10 of 10

    You are a customer experience graduate at Lowe’’s. A change to how refunds are processed starts on Monday and will add three days to how long they take. About four hundred customers are waiting on refunds now. A notice has gone on their online accounts, though most customers open those only when something goes wrong. You have their contact details and the change is public. Which response below would be most effective, and which would be least effective?

    1. Add a line about the change to the standard reply the team sends when customers write in, so that anybody who contacts us from Monday is told about the delay.
    2. Draft a message to all four hundred explaining the change in detail and why it is being made, and send it once your manager has approved the wording next week.
    3. Propose a short message to the four hundred waiting customers today, saying what is changing and what it means for their refund, so that they hear before it bites.
    4. Assume the customers who need to know will see the notice on their accounts, since it is published there and the change has been made public already.
    Show the answer

    Most effective: C. Propose a short message to the four hundred waiting customers today, saying what is changing and what it means for their refund, so that they hear before it bites.

    Least effective: D. Assume the customers who need to know will see the notice on their accounts, since it is published there and the change has been made public already.

    A: Waits for the customer to make the first move: the people who write in are told, and the ones who simply wait and wonder are not.

    B: Times a warning to arrive after the event: the fullest explanation is worth less than a short one that reaches people before their refund is late.

    D: Assumes a published notice is a message received: the people affected rarely open those accounts, and the one team that knows that has decided publication is enough.

    The most effective response is to propose a short message to the four hundred waiting customers today, saying what is changing and what it means for them, and get it agreed before Monday: the people affected hear before they are affected, and the message says the one thing they need rather than everything there is to say. It beats adding a line to the standard reply, because that reaches only the customers who write in. It beats a full explanation approved next week, because a warning that arrives after the delay is not a warning. The least effective response is assuming the online notice will do the telling: the team knows those accounts are rarely opened, so a publication is treated as a message received, which is a different kind of wrong from reacting only to contact or from being too slow. The principle: when something you have published matters to identifiable people, tell them, and tell them before it bites.